Hill's Prescription Diet Question

[chickyandcheese]

I'm wondering if any of you have had any issues with your cat getting sick on Hill's Prescription Diet foods? We started ours on it several months ago in response to her recurrent UTIs. She loves the food and hasn't had a UTI since. However, over the last week she has been getting sick - she vomits once every day around the same time in the early morning and then she's fine the rest of the day. It's not hairballs - it's food coming up. She usually gets a scoop of the dry food in the morning and then a small serving of the wet food in the evening. The vomiting is occurring hours after she's eaten her wet food and before she eats her dry food and she has no other symptoms - no lethargy, no lack of appetite or thirst, still playful and bossy. I'm stumped and wondering if she could have developed some sensitivity to the food and if any of you have encountered a similar situation.

 

[Purr-fect]

Im not a vet but based on my experience, I think hill prescription diet may have caused diabetes in one of our cats.

She was literally on deaths door. I took her to the vets and was told she had advanced diabetes.

I did some research on diabeties and found that many cat food s were high in carbs/grains and that over time this can cause health problems such as diabetes.

I was surprised to see the hills c/d was high in grains and carbohydrates. I thought it was quality food. It was expensive, only available from the vet and the clinic had said it would be safe to feed it to our cat. She was eating it because our male cat was prone to uti's and we could not feed them separately.

We immediately switched her to a high quality, grain free diet. Her health improved, her fur got thicker and glossier and she lived another year or so.

Now I wont feed foods with grains to any more of our cats.

Greg and Arnold......... "grain free".... lol

' '

 

[lisahe]

Yes to what Purr-fect wrote about grains and carbs! C chickyandcheese , you didn't mention which Hill's food you're feeding your cat but, as Purr-fect said, lots of them have grains (and other ingredients, like potato) that can cause sensitivities in cats.

Since you didn't mention which exact formulas you're feeding your cat, I looked up the c/d dry urinary food ingredients and they started like this: Chicken, Whole Grain Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Wheat, Brewers Rice, Pork Fat, Chicken Meal, Egg Product, Pork Flavor, Soybean Oil

There are three grain ingredients plus soybean oil... but cats are carnivores, they need meat protein, not lots of wheat and corn (the gluten is often used in foods to boost their protein numbers) which can be very difficult for their digestive systems to process. Beyond that, those sorts of ingredients tend to raise the carbs in foods, as Purr-fect mentioned, which can cause problems like diabetes.

We also don't feed grains to our cats: they came to us with sensitive stomachs but they're settled down after five years of a diet that's heavy on meat and very low on carbs. We don't feed grains, potatoes, peas, chickpeas, lentils, or any other legumes or carby vegetable matter.

For some vet-written information on UTIs and diets, here's catinfo.org, which is a great site for learning about basics of why cats need high-protein wet food: Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection
There's a lot of information but Dr. Pierson sums things up nicely at the start and strongly advises wet food only.

 

[FeebysOwner]

When she throws up, what does the vomit consist of? I ask this because you are saying it is long after she eats her wet food but before she has eaten any dry. So, it would seem most of the food would be digested, yes?

Feeby (14+ yo) has been on urinary care food since she had bladder surgery for stones 10 years ago. She also had bouts of UTI before that as well. She eats Hill's C/D and Royal Canin SO - both dry and wet. But, tbh, she only started getting wet a year or so ago, as she has always been inclined to be a free grazer and only eats a little bit at a time. I have managed to get her to eat 1/3 of a can in less than a hour now, most of the time.

She hasn't had a problem with either food, and just had all of her geriatric testing done and does not have diabetes.

There are a lot of reasons to try to avoid some of the above mentioned ingredients, and to encourage your cat to eat wet food. But, doing so and trying to avoid long term urinary issues can present problems in a cat that is not inclined to eat wet food.

Purina Pro also has a urinary care food in both wet and dry. I believe Wysong does as well, although it might be dry only. You could try the Royal Canin, Purina, or Wysong, if it turns out she is sensitive to the Hill's.

 

[cuppa]

What is the vomit consistency? Is it yellow, liquidy, and/or foamy? If there's no food chunks in it, she could just be vomiting bile due to an empty stomach.

 

[Azazel]

I avoid 'prescription' diets. Personally I think they are most often a scam and are usually not needed. Most urinary problems can be prevented by feeding a high moisture and high animal protein diet. It is completely illogical to feed a cat with urinary issues dry food. These kibble prescription diets just mask the problem, they don't provide a proper solution. I would only put my cats on a prescription diet in severe cases - and even then, would only feed the wet variety. Here's some more helpful info: Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection